Editor ––

It was important for property owners on South Padre Island to formally protest their 2023 property appraisal, with the Cameron County Appraisal District, due to the proposed increases in values.

The increase in values were likely due to the sales environment in 2022, which was a sellers market. However, so far in 2023, the market has cooled and asking prices are being reduced, as evidenced by listings on Zillow and Realtor.com.

As a property owner, with no intention of selling, my property values on my two (2) condos were increased by $100,000 each, prompting me to file an on-line protest.

My documentation included articles from Zillow.com, values only increased by 8.6% from 2022, Realtor.com, properties sold for 7.4% below asking price in 2023, GoBankingRates, which stated that rising interest rates reduced a buyer's approved loan amount by $17,500 for each 1/2 percent increase in market rates.

My protest resulted in the Appraisal Board reducing the appraisal by $50,000 on each condo. Success!

Tom Bochniak, Property owner